The name "Michigan" is derived from a Chippewa Indian word "meicigama" meaning "great water" and refers to the Great Lakes which hug the shores of the State. Michigan is said to have been first discovered around 1610 and inhabited by the Indians. In the mid 1700's it was claimed by the French - but was ceded to the British until the Revolution when it became part of the United States but we didn't take full possession of it until 1796 and shortly thereafter it became part of the Northwest Territory. Then from 1800 to 1805 it was connected with the Ohio and the Indian Territories. The first American settlers began settling in Michigan about 1796, coming from England but it was not until about 1818 that an appreciable amount of settlers was noticed. 1818 was the first public land sales and the work on the erie Canal attracted many. The completion of the Canal in 1825 added stimula to the immigrants. Its about this time that many came to work on the road construction heading toward Chicago. By 1840 the immigration increased to such an extent that about half of the southern peninsula was cultivated. From 1840 - 1890 there were tens of thousand of workers who came to work in the lumber and mining camps.